What are You Doing for Yuri’s Night?

Yuri’s Night commemorates two space milestones in history that both occurred on April 12: in 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the first human spaceflight, and in 1981, the inaugural launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle. Yuri’s Night is a global celebration of humanity’s past, present, and future in space. Yuri’s Night parties and events are held around the world, and you can check the Yuri’s Night website to see if there is an event near you.

The astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS will celebrate (see video below), and the first ever Yuri’s Night on another world is being held via Twitter and Facebook along with the Curiosity rover.

Yuri’s Night events combine space-themed partying with education and outreach. These events can range from an all-night mix of techno and technology at a NASA Center, to a movie showing and stargazing at your local college, to a gathering of friends at a bar or barbecue.

In 2011, the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight, over 100,000 people attended 567 officially-recognized events in 75 countries on all 7 continents, while tens of thousands more watched the 12-hour live Yuri’s Night Global Webcast and participated online in the virtual world of Second Life.